Dearest (the one and only)
by Chiri-tan
Summary: At first it was fear; pure and unadulterated fear that Yuuya felt as a figure clad in darkness tried to envelope him in the shadows like it had Yuuto. He was about to cry and scream for it to stay away, but then he saw golden eyes and a startled yet happy smile forming in the shadows and he remembered... everything. [The Yuu4 are their dimensional dragons theory]


Yuuya was desperate to find Yuuto in the endless galaxy that was their shared headspace.

He felt dread and the impending sense of doom when he kept on walking towards nowhere. The stars are moving around him and yet it lacked a certain _feel_ that Yuuya always felt whenever Yuuto was around. Fear began to fill his senses as he kept hearing Yuuto's loud scream as he _pleaded and pleaded and pleaded_ for the darkness to stop consuming him. Yuuya had heard it while he was dueling Yuuri and he cursed himself for not rushing to Yuuto's side to calm him like Yuuto had during his duel with Serena and Ruri. Yuuya hoped with all his heart that Yuuto was still here somewhere, fending off the darkness that tried to consume them both, but it was to no avail.

It felt strangely quiet. He wondered if it wasn't supposed to be quiet because there were the four of them now. But Yuuto didn't appear in front of him right away after he first absorbed him either, so Yuuya relished at the fact that he was still _him_.

He didn't know how long he could hold this (himself? His consciousness? _Sakaki Yuuya?_ ) up, but he knew that he wanted to find Yuuto. His counterpart had been screaming earlier and now that Yuuya wasn't so tormented with the strange pull he felt whenever a dimensional dragon was on the field, he resolved to find the other. Yuuto had shared so many moments with him, helped him through many of them, it's only right that Yuuya try his best to help him too.

(Most definitely not because he had heard Yuuto's voice whispering— _dying, pleading—_ to the darkness that _he only wanted to protect Ruri._ And Yuuya did nothing to help him, because Yuuri was there in front of him, smiling and professing his desire to be whole once more...

Yuuya _didn't_ feel guilty, he didn't _need_ to, it was all Yuuri's fault)

Suddenly, he could hear Yuuri's voice screaming in ecstasy along with Yuugo's own pained ones. Yuuya ran towards the sound of their voices only to fall into a hole he never remembered existing in the place where and Yuuto shared their consciousness. He fell into an empty city where nothing moved, not even the clouds or even wind. Yuuri was a few meters away from him, smiling and laughing as he sunk into his own shadows and Yuugo along with him. Yuuya ran to his counterparts, trying to comprehend what was going on and maybe try to help Yuugo and Yuuri out. But then before he could reach them, darkness began to spread around him as well.

At first it was fear; pure and unadulterated fear that Yuuya felt as a figure clad in darkness tried to envelope him in the shadows like it had Yuuto. He was about to cry and scream for it to stay away, but then he saw golden eyes and a startled yet happy smile forming in the shadows and he remembered... _everything_.

"Odd-Eyes."

Zarc. _Zarc!_ His beautiful _beautiful_ perfect child was calling him and Yuuya collapsed into the darkness.

And it strangely felt like home.

* * *

 _"Odd-Eyes!"_

 _Odd-Eyes turned, happiness and relief permeating in his entire being as his beautiful child smiled at him with pearly white teeth and crinkled eyes. Odd-Eyes lowered his muzzle, allowing the child to stroke them. Gloved hands handled his scales with a reverence that flattered him to no ends. Odd-Eyes would die for this child, really, and he wouldn't even give it a second thought._

 ** _Zarc, dearest child._**

 _Odd-Eyes felt the boy's warmth against his snout and the other kissed his muzzle._ _ **Dearest child.**_ _Odd-Eyes_ __ _mused, shaking his tail as Zarc tightened his hug around him._

 _"Are you ready? They say the stadium is_ packed _with people! Can you believe it, Odd-Eyes? They all came to see our duel!" Odd-Eyes honestly_ can _believe it because his Zarc was just so magnificent. He was a brilliant duelist whose entertaining skill had attracted the dragon in the first place. Odd-Eyes had no doubt that if Zarc could attract dragons with his dueling, he would definitely attract the humans too._

 _Odd-Eyes purred and let himself be scratched under his chin, happy and excited for his child to grow into the Dueling King that he no doubt will be._

* * *

When Yuuto woke up, he expected Yuuya to be the one he first saw.

But it wasn't Yuuya he first saw, though it was another face that mirrored his. Yuugo looked like he was having a nightmare, struggling to wake up from his sleep just as Yuuto had. But what he didn't expect was Yuuya rising from his place a few meters away from Yuugo and bolting directly into the arms of _another one_ who shared their face.

It wasn't _Yuuri_ , because his eyes are gold and his hair was gray with green streaks. He was taller than any of his counterparts and he was definitely _older_. Yuuya was crying, sobbing, wailing and _shrieking_ at the man, nuzzling onto his chest like he wouldn't ever let him go. He babbled in a series of words and sobs and growls and purrs that _he would never let him go_ , that _he loved him_ , that _he was sorry that they ever separated_ , and the man only hugged him tight with a nostalgic smile on his face.

 _Thump!_

Yuuto shuddered as he saw Yuuya clinging at the man whose figure were clad in darkness. He was _scared_ , he felt _dread_ but he stood up from his place and screamed.

"Yuuya!" And the world stopped.

Yuuya didn't turn to look at him, but another person did. Golden eyes met steel gray and he had a warm smile across his face as he held out his arm to beckon Yuuto closer.

"Dark Rebellion."

Waves of nostalgia hit Yuuto straight on the face and he could feel his tears leaking. Something within him screamed with so much fervor that Yuuto's knees buckled, clearly overwhelmed at the sensation that was pulsing through his body.

Happiness. Content. Love. Companionship. Satisfaction. Anger. Sadness. Pain. _Family..._

 _"You're not scary, I love you."_

"Zarc..." Yuuto found himself whisper, tears still leaking from his face as he remembered the child who had told him that his black scales are beautiful and his lightning had been majestic. He remembered the way those gloved hands would caress his metallic tusks with such reverence and care that he had felt _loved_. He remembered the other voices; laughing, sneering, shouting as he was brought from the depth of darkness and the others he had called his _brothers—_

"Will you move, Odd-Eyes," a voice called from Yuuto's side, sounding as smug as Yuuto remembered it to be but it sounded so... _endearing_ , like he had grown to tolerate it after all this time, and yet _Yuuri_ had never spend time with him for him to feel this way. The purple-haired boy walked past Yuuto and stopped directly in front of Yuuya and Zarc. "You're not the only one who misses this rascal." Yuuri sneered at the man, earning him a smirk from the elder. "Starve Venom, always with the sass..." Zarc welcomed him, but Yuuto focused more on the fact that Yuuya was beaming at Yuuri with a smile that hinted a long companionship.

"Ven! I miss you!" Yuuya said, still not letting go of Zarc, but moving to create a space in case Yuuri wanted to hug him as well. Yuuri didn't move, only showing that proud smug face as he ruffled Zarc's hair. "I won't say sorry, that's saved for Odd-Eyes, but I am glad that you returned to us, child." Yuuri was sincere, eyes softening in an expression that was supposed to be _foreign_ for Yuuto, but it _wasn't_.

(How many times have Starve Venom given him that look before? Did he yearn for it? _Didn't he want to please his brothers?_ )

Yuuto took a step forward, closer to the picture of family that was both foreign and familiar to him. But then he heard Shun's voice, screaming at him to _wake up!_

"What the hell.. did Yuuya know that smug bastard?!" Yuuto's head immediately turned towards Yuugo, who was now standing a few steps behind him with an incredulous look on his face. Yuuto had no doubt that Yuugo was confused at the very picture in front of him because the last time he checked, Yuuya didn't even _know_ that Yuuri existed, then why the hell would he smile at Yuuri like they were brothers or something?

(But they were _—_ they _are_ brothers)

Zarc and Yuuri turned towards them both, one with an unreadable smile and the other with pure curiosity. "Always the last to wake up, Clear Wing." Zarc said with a small chuckle and Yuuto couldn't help but fall to his knees and hugged himself, trembling as nostalgia and _happinessandlongingandloveandcompanionship_ all melded into one emotion and hit him hard once more. He heard that often, _too_ often, and sometimes he would join in as Odd-Eyes (no, it's _Yuuya!_ )and Starve Venom ( _Yuuri!_ ) chided Clear Wing for his sleeping habits.

Yuuto willed himself to look at Yuugo, who looked almost as stricken as Yuuto himself. The turbo-duelist sniffed, holding back a sob that threatened to come out of his lips.

Yuugo didn't move, didn't blink, he just stood there as he seemed to have an internal battle with himself because his feet trembled hard; clearly undecided between leaping towards his family and something else that bound Yuugo to his current self...

"Z-Zarc..." he whispered, exhaling a breath he didn't know he was holding as he desperately try to stop himself from going to his side. "But- Rin- I- my name is..."

"Dark Rebellion, is something wrong with Clear Wing?" Zarc asked and he was struggling because his tongue wanted to answer, to obey this child who had loved him and give him family and yet he could hear a girl and a boy screaming within his skull.

 _"Yuuto!"_

"Dark Rebellion?" Odd-Eyes ( _Yuuya!)_ chimed, and somehow his head hurt so much it could have exploded and he wouldn't have cared. But then Clear Wing (Pawn of Fusion, Yuugo, Yuugo, _Yuugo!_ ) had grabbed his shoulder so tightly it actually hurt. " _Yuuto_ , don't listen to them! Your friend's sister, Ruri, and Rin needs us!" Yuugo was screaming at him but he found himself _wavering_.

Yuugo was clutching his head and he looked like he was in pain, but then he looked pointedly towards Yuuya (not Odd-Eyes, no, that's _not_ his name). "Oi, don't you wanna save Yuzu?! She needs us! She needs _you!_ " Yuuya's eyes widened ever so slightly, but then he gazed at Zarc who hugged him even tighter and decided to bury himself more in Zarc's embrace. "He's here, he's here, _my child is here!_ I don't need anyone else, I don't need anything else!" Yuuya screamed with so much desperation that Yuuto felt his heart sting. He was so used to sharing Yuuya's pain that he could feel it outside of their shared body.

Zarc narrowed his eyes and shared a look with Yuuri.

"Starve Venom, would you take care of Odd-Eyes for a bit? You know how he gets when he's insecure about something." Zarc sighed with a pure tone of exasperated fondness. Yuuri rolled his eyes but nodded anyway. "Well, Odd-Eyes _is_ my favorite brother so I suppose you won't owe me one. Hit them hard, make them come back." Yuuri then went over to Yuuya and tried his best to calm the other down like Yuuto used to.

Zarc faced them with an unreadable look on his face.

"Clear Wing, Dark Rebellion..." his tone was so full of disappointment and it _hurt_. Yuuto (Dark Rebellion) did not want to disappoint him, did not want to make Yuuya (Odd-Eyes) cry. But...

 _"Save me! Yuuto!"_

Yuuto bit his lower lip, trying to ground himself to reality. And judging from the way Yuugo kept whispering Rin's name under his breath, Yuuto was sure that he was having the exact same feeling he had now. They were torn between their two selves, of being a dragon (he remembered the way he flew with his beloved Zarc and conjured up lightnings in his wake atop of a modern city where everyone lived) and being a teenager (he remembered Spade School, Heartland, Shun's tender smile, and Ruri's laughter).

 _I know you're in there, Yuuto! Please come to your senses!_

 _Yuuto!_

 _YUUTO!_

"I'm..." Yuuto hissed between his teeth. "I'm Yuuto... I'm not just your dragon anymore, Zarc. I... I have a life too!" He was crying, sobs threatening to fall off his lips because _he didn't want to hurt Zarc._ But he wanted to save Ruri, he wanted to save Heartland, he wanted...

"I love you!" Yuugo suddenly screamed, his expression full of anguish and pain and for a split second Yuuto thought that he was going to go to Zarc, but then his next words brought them all to a halt. "BUT I LOVE RIN TOO! I WANT TO SAVE HER!" And there was a blinding light and a soaring pain because Zarc screamed so hard as Yuuto and Yuugo was blown out of their shared headspace and into the Professor's room in the Academia.

"Yuuto!"

"Yuugo!"

Shun, Kaito, and Edo were dueling, along with Yuuya's companions Akaba Reiji and Akaba Reira, against one lone man who still made his heart ache when they were standing against each other and not side by side. Yuugo was sobbing next to him, not caring that everyone was looking at them both.

"What happened?! Where is _—"_

Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon let out a wail that sounded too much like grieving and Zarc went to soothe him. "There, there, Odd-Eyes dear..." Golden eyes went over to both Yuuto and Yuugo, determination flaring and there was a foreign tinge of cruelty that wasn't _there_ when they were just inside their headspace. "We'll get them back, we'll make them see. Don't you cry..." Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon wailed once more, but it nuzzled to Zarc's side while Starve Venom Fusion Dragon just snarled at them.

"No, Zarc," Yuuto began, readying his duel disk and he could see Yuugo doing the same. "We shouldn't _—_ we can't repeat what we've done in the last dimension! Can't you see that, Odd-Eyes, no... _Yuuya?!_ "

There were gasps of shock and disbelief coming from their comrades, along with Yuugo's attempts to explain everything in the easiest way possible. But then Zarc looked at him with wide eyes before he burst into a maniacal laughter. "Dark Rebellion," he called with a smile on his face. "You may be Odd-Eyes' favorite brother, but Odd-Eyes is mine..." Suddenly, the solid vision of Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon changed into their smiling comrade. He was chained into Zarc's hands, but Yuuya had his arms around Zarc, hugging him hard.

"I am the dearest to him, his one and only. Do you really think that Ray could take him away from me like she did you? Of course not."

Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon roared, as if agreeing with his master.

It was only then that Yuuto realized that they would need a miracle if they ever want to defeat Zarc...

To defeat _Yuuya_.


End file.
